2021 Black History Month - WBG Reading List
A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAACP IMAGE AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present—edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.
The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society—and in ourselves.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ECPA BESTSELLER • “When it comes to the intersection of race, privilege, justice, and the church, Tasha is without question my best teacher. Be the Bridge is THE tool I wish to put in every set of hands.”—Jen Hatmaker
The #1 New York Times bestseller and a USAToday bestseller!
A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America
This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.
Both a deeply compelling bestselling novel and an epic milestone of American literature.
Originally published in 1952 as the first novel by a then unknown author, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century.
From “one of the greatest writers of our time” (Toni Morrison)—the author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God—a collection of remarkable stories, including eight “lost” Harlem Renaissance tales now available to a wide audience for the first time.
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith
Maya Angelou’s unforgettable poem is matched with the daring art of Jean-Michel Basquiat in this powerful ode to courage
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Maya Angelou's brave, defiant poem celebrates the courage within each of us, young and old.$18.99ISBN: 9781620971932Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: New Press - January 7th, 2020Named one of the most important nonfiction books of the 21st century by Entertainment Weekly' Slate' Chronicle of Higher Education' Literary Hub, Book Riot' and Zora
$25.99ISBN: 9781728209807Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: Sourcebooks - January 1st, 2020The New York Times and USA Today bestseller This eye-opening book challenges you to do the essential work of unpacking your biases, and helps white people take action and dismantle the privilege within themselves so that you can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.
$16.99ISBN: 9781580058827Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: Seal Press - September 24th, 2019In this New York Times bestseller, Ijeoma Oluo offers a hard-hitting but user-friendly examination of race in America
$14.95ISBN: 9781603093002Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: Top Shelf Productions - August 13th, 2013#1 New York Times Bestseller
$19.99ISBN: 9781568585987Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: Bold Type Books - August 15th, 2017The National Book Award winning history of how racist ideas were created, spread, and deeply rooted in American society.
$18.85ISBN: 9781784782924Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Verso - August 28th, 2018LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
$17.00ISBN: 9780812984965Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: One World - August 18th, 2015#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX • A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.
$15.74ISBN: 9780711245211Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Frances Lincoln Children's Books - January 7th, 2020#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Recommended by Oprah's Book Club, ESSENCE, We Need Diverse Books, ellentube, Brit + Co, PureWow, Teen Vogue, Time, New York, USA TODAY, and TODAY.com
Also available: This Book Is Anti-Racist Journal, a guided journal with more than 50 activities to support your anti-racism journey$8.99ISBN: 9780593110416Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: Kokila - June 16th, 2020A #1 New York Times Bestseller!
Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices!
Featured on Good Morning America, NPR's Morning Edition, CBS This Morning, and more!$28.35ISBN: 9780525575320Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Crown - June 30th, 2020NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • James Baldwin grew disillusioned by the failure of the civil rights movement to force America to confront its lies about race. In our own moment, when that confrontation feels more urgently needed than ever, what can we learn from his struggle?
$14.95ISBN: 9780307275936Availability: On Our Shelves NowPublished: Vintage - October 10th, 2006In this honest and stunning novel that inspired the award-winning major motion picture of the same name, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice.
"A major work of Black American fiction." –The New Republic$18.89ISBN: 9780316491372Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Orbit - August 13th, 2019Three-time Hugo Award winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption that sharply examine modern society in her first collection of short fiction, which includes never-before-seen stories.
$27.30ISBN: 9780812993547Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: One World - July 14th, 2015#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF OPRAH’S “BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH” • NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT
$19.94ISBN: 9780399246531Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Nancy Paulsen Books - August 28th, 2018A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices!$18.89ISBN: 9780399168567Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Nancy Paulsen Books - October 11th, 2016A New York Times Best Illustrated Book
Critically acclaimed author Jabari Asim and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis give readers a fascinating glimpse into the boyhood of Civil Rights leader John Lewis.
$26.20ISBN: 9780385537070Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 DaysPublished: Doubleday - July 16th, 2019In this Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling follow-up to The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.